


Reach Out To The Truth

by zacizach



Category: Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Again its up to a bunch of kids to save the world, As of Chapter 2 Hermits are introduced, Badass heroes by night, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I actually have no idea what to tag, Mentions/Imply of Character Deaths, OOC lets be real, POV may switch sometimes, Primarly Tommy's POV, Slife of life, Tags will change as story goes on, Teenage school life by day, Typical teenage humor, Unspecified location for plot convenience, based off of the persona series and genshin impact, no beta we die like [redacted], probably?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29677497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zacizach/pseuds/zacizach
Summary: Tommy moves into a small but peaceful town in the countryside as a form of ‘vacationing’ for the year. Right off the bat, he knew there was something fishy about the town- and not just that, but their residents as well. And because Tommy can't seem to stop meddling with affairs he shouldn't be meddling with in the first place, his life turned drastically and soon finds himself in a position where the fate of humanity rests on finding the truth.ORWith the power of friendship Big Man Tommyinnit kills a god (eventually)
Relationships: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC YO, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Everyone
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	1. September 7 | i

**Author's Note:**

> Hi so I actually have a fic im working on currently but im kind of stumped about it. so i decided to write about something else to curve my creativity and all 
> 
> i had this idea for a long time now and its only recent that i decided to write it  
> it was fun lmao 
> 
> all mistakes are mine but know that i'm writing this more for fun. i may edit it if i ever finish it but yea just a heads up

Tommy was never used to the quiet air around him. 

Ever since he was born, there were always noises around. Chatter and gossip fill the streets of the city, mainly from the news they happen to read that day or the scandal that happens in their workplace. If the voices weren’t enough, there were also screens everywhere, colorful advertisements and occasionally, a voice grabbing the commuters attention to watch the advertisement in the form of a short video to show their product. 

School was always noisy. Boys screaming left and right, girls gossiping about the latest tea or whatever. Tommy can’t complain, he was also noisy. But there were other noises as well; like the sound of pencil scraping against the paper, the pages of textbook being flipped, and ocassional tap on the finger against the hard table. The bell was also a noise he grew accustomed to. 

His home was never quiet, either. The low, faint sound of the TV playing in the background that often told him his father was home, and maybe passed out on the couch. The sound of cooking in the kitchen, sausage or egg sizzling on the pan and the cheerful voice of his mother as she talked to her old friends over the speaker of her phone. Tommy usually ignored those voices by blasting music in his room as he did his homework. 

And when night comes and everyone has gone to bed, he finds that it was just as noisy, though muted. Cars driving by and honking, the faint thud from his neighbour, and even his own thoughts fill the silence. The never-ending thoughts.

But now, everything seemed too quiet. 

It seemed funny, at the time. Just minutes ago he was taking a long train ride to a town from fuck-knows-where, and after dropping off and hearing the train leave, it was then silent. No voices, no recorded speeches over the PA system, and certainly no locals coming to welcome him. Not that he expected any welcoming, but he had thought to see at least one or two locals mingling about. 

Tommy frowned, dropping the duffel bag containing his clothes to the foot of the stairs leading to the main streets. He pulled out his phone and checked through his contacts, eventually tapping on the number that would belong to his new guardian for the time being. 

He messaged saying he was here. He was so used to the brief silence, the short ringtone that indicated an incoming message surprised him. Quickly, he checked his phone once more. 

Omw. Stay where u r. In car

“So much for not texting while driving.” Tommy mumbled to himself, remembering a class he had last year about road safety. It was boring, to say the least. 

Not even a minute passed when he caught sight of a grey car coming from the main road, towards the train station. It stopped by the edge of the road, and out came a man a few inches taller than him, wearing a black sweater and jeans. He also has… are those chops as his facial hair? What the fuck. 

“Heya.” The man greeted, one hand in his pocket and the other adjusting the cap he wore over his long-ish hair. “You must be Thomas?”

“Just call me Tommy, please. You’re Johnathan?” 

He nodded. “Yea, but I prefer being called Schlatt.” 

Tommy tested the name out. “Schlatt… It’s nice to meet you.” 

Schlatt laughed, then gestured for Tommy to follow. He hastily grabbed his duffel bag and caught up with the older male. “Don’t need to act so formal, kid. I heard from your ma that you have more of a potty mouth.” 

“I can confirm that what she says half the time is complete bullshit.” 

Schlatt stopped just before reaching for the door. He turned his head to give Tommy a side-eye, and from there Tommy realized the joking air around them had stilled into something more serious, something dangerous. He gulped, hoping he could stay calm as he waited for his next words. 

“... Like how your mother said you’re here on vacation, right?” 

_How did he know?_

The click of the door opening snapped Tommy from his thoughts. Schlatt was grinning now, his eyes devoid of any seriousness from before, and tipped his head. “Well? Get in. My house ain’t far, and I gotta introduce you to some people as well.”

“Some… people?”

“Neighbors, stuff like that. So at least you'll know some familiar faces.”

Tommy found it hard to protest, so he simply shrugged and got into the car, placing the duffel bag on the empty space beside him. 

The muted sound of the air conditioner as it turned on, and some slow, pop song coming from the radio. Schlatt remained silent as he drove off the side of the road and back to the main road. Tommy didn’t say anything to break the silence between them.

However, his thoughts served as background noise, and Tommy willed himself to close his eyes and ignore it. 

* * *

It only took about ten minutes of driving to reach the neighborhood streets. The houses were simple and not really big, and spaced widely from each other. Some of the houses look quite old as well, though he was relieved to see that Schlatt’s house seemed more modern and not falling apart at the seams. 

“Well, welcome to your new home.” Schlatt said, turning off the engine. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room to take your stuff off. Then, you can explore the town.” 

Tommy silently nodded and followed Schlatt out of the car. 

He did a quick glance around the area, and caught sight of a boy standing on the next-door house’s porch, blue eyes staring at him curiously. Tommy looked at him, and the boy noticed his stare. 

The two had an awkward stare-off until the boy raised his hand up to give a small, shy wave, his blank face now breaking into one of an awkward but genuine grin. Tommy couldn’t help but find that amusing, laughing a bit as he gave a wave back. 

“Tommy?”

“Coming!”

The inside of the house was surprisingly neat. Schlatt didn’t seem to have any housemates or family members living with him, as Tommy realized there weren’t many rooms around. At most two rooms, and a single bathroom. Schlatt was bringing him up to the highest floor, and from there Tommy realized which room he’ll be in. 

On the second floor, there was a small hallway that had two doors. However, Schlatt knocked his closed fist on the wall, by the door nearest to the staircase, causing a reachable piece of cloth to fall and hang from the ceiling. 

Schlatt reached up easily to hold the cloth tied to a handle, and pulled down. Tommy backed a tiny bit as a ladder slid down from its position. 

“I’m staying in the attic?” Tommy asked, trying to peer up from where he stood. 

“Eh, it’s better than you think.”

He climbed up, and Tommy followed. Schlatt was kind enough to grab the duffel bag from him before Tommy got up on the attic. 

Surprisingly enough, the attic wasn’t too small, really it was about the right size. The wall and floor were made of brown wood, but a large red rug covered most of it. A single bed was pushed against the wall nearest to the large circular window at the front of the house. There’s an empty bookshelf on one side, a dresser beside it. Near to his bed was a desk and a chair. There were also bean bags around, and funny enough, some fairy lights taped on the slanted walls that acted as his light source. 

“Sorry if the room ain’t your style. I didn’t want to leave it empty but also didn’t want to make it overboard, so I had a neighbour come over to help decorate. The fairy lights were her idea.” Schlatt commented, putting his hands in his pockets. Tommy was awed as he placed his duffel bag on the foot of his new bed. This… This will be the room he’ll be staying in. “She complained it’s a bit bare, so if you want, there’s a local mall you can check out with furniture and shit.”

“No, this is awesome, thank you.” Tommy felt awkward, and gave him a quick bow for respect. “This is… much better than my room in the city.”

Schlatt hummed. “I see. Well, you can unpack later. I gotta show you some neighbours so you know who they are- though I think you’ll meet them anyway.”  
  


Tommy couldn’t help but find his wording odd. “Why do you sound like you need to go somewhere?”

“It’s because I do need to go somewhere. I know you're old enough and shit but I rather not leave you alone in a town you’ve never been to, so you can stay with them or go explore the town with them or something.” Schlatt said nonchalantly. When they reached the main living room, he grabbed his coat and put it on. Tommy also caught him grabbing what looked like a golden charm before he pocketed it. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Eh, somewhere.” 

The vague answer made Tommy frown, but he decided not to pry. Schlatt won’t tell him what he’s doing, but he can just ask his neighbours anyway. Makes it more fun to hear what other people say. 

Schlatt waited for him to put his shoes back on and leave the house, before locking the front door. Tommy eyed the keys that were now hidden in the back of Schlatt’s pocket. “Do I get keys?” 

The older male froze for a split second, eyes widening in surprise, before sighing. “Yea, but I forgot to get it replicated. I’ll do it tonight.”

His voice got quieter at the end, making Tommy a bit worried. Why did he sound exhausted? He seemed pretty fine when he first picked him up at the train station. Tommy can’t help but be curious about his new guardian. If he could, he would drill the man with so many questions Schlatt would hate him for it. 

But then again, he was sent here to not get hated more… 

“Come, I’ll introduce you to the neighbor next to us. He has three kids- one being around your age, I think you’ll like him.” 

“I don’t like him.” 

The automatic response caused Schlatt to lose his footing a tiny bit, a choke laugh leaving his lips. Tommy couldn’t help but grin at the sight. His parents would never have left him off the hook after that comment.

The house next to Schlatt’s was of a similar size, though looked more weary. It took Tommy a minute to realize this was the same house he saw the boy in a while ago. 

Before he realized it, Schlatt was knocking on the door. There were a few muffled sounds but the door eventually open, revealing a man with blonde hair, tied into a short, low pony-tail. He was wearing a simple green polo-tee and a white apron in front, the mess of what he assumed was soup staining it. He looked disheveled, but happy to see Schlatt. 

“Schlatt! It’s nice to meet you- this must be the boy you picked up. Thomas, was it?” 

“Tommy.” He corrected quietly. 

The stranger nodded, smiling. “Right, Tommy. My name’s Phil, it’s nice to meet you.” 

His eyes were green and full of kindness, and his smile was small but genuine. There were visible lines under his eyes, giving off evidence that he hadn’t been sleeping well these past few nights. However, there’s this feeling of home and familiarity just by being around the man. Tommy wasn’ exactly sure why, he didn’t even feel the same with Schlatt, who’s supposed to be his guardian. 

Maybe it’s because this Phil guy has more of a father-like charm? 

“Phiiiiiiil, Wil took my fucking brush aga-”

Behind Phil, a man that’s standing a few inches taller than Tommy towered over him. He was slouching a tiny bit, a tired look in his eyes as he groggily rubbed his face with his hands. He was also wearing an over-sized white shirt and some comfortable-looking pajama bottoms in the color of pink. His hair was long and messy, most of it dyed pink with its natural brown color showing at the tips. 

The new guy yawned, and when his eyes focused on Schlatt and Tommy, he froze. 

“... Alright I’m out-”

“Not so fast!”

The guy whined as Phil pulled him back by the back of his collar. Much to Tommy’s surprise, Phil was holding him in place as the other frantically tried to pull away with all his strength. He wasn’t even trying to fake-get away, he was full-blown trying to escape. Phil would not let him, though, and smiled back at the two. 

“This is Techno. He’s a college student but I think he’ll get along great with Tommy.” 

Tommy looked at Techno’s dishevelled looks once, and in a straight face, said, “You’re supposed to be a college student?” 

Techno stopped thrashing, and in his deadpan voice, replied back “And you’re living in this fucking town?”

“What kind of name is Techno anyway?”

“Who the fuck names their kid Tommy? That’s so basic-” 

The two ended up bickering back and forth. Oddly enough, Tommy felt relaxed around Techno. He’s not malicious or mean- he’s actually amusing, replying in his flat tone as if he could not give less shits about him. But there was a sign of a slight turn of his lip when Tommy replied back with a cocky remark. 

He was so lost in their teasing that he nearly didn’t hear Schlatt’s words. 

“They’ll get along juuuust fine.”

Schlatt had a tired but grateful look on his face. Techno noticed the look, and turned his head away. He seemed shy all of a sudden. “... Tubbo is in the backyard… if you wanna see him.” 

“Yes, thank you, Techno. You can go back up.” Phil said softly, reaching out to rub his arm in comfort. He nodded back, and gave Tommy a half-wave before disappearing back into the house. 

“Oh, and Tommy. Have you been around the neighborhood?”

Tommy shook his head no. 

“If you want, you can meet my son, Tubbo. He’s in the backyard, I’m sure he doesn’t mind bringing you around town. Meanwhile, Mr. Schlatt here and I are gonna have a pleasant adult conversation about sex and money to catch up.”

He gagged. Schlatt only laughed to the point of having to lean to the wall, while Phil smiled innocently. 

At this point Tommy was ushered by Phil to walk through the hallway and straight to the sliding doors that would lead him to the backyard. Tommy tried to avoid the decorations, but a large, framed photo caught his attention at the middle of the hallway. 

On the wall to his left, opposite to the staircase, hung a bunch of framed photos ranging from big to small. Some were photos of Phil with one or two- hell, three children. One of which he happened to recognize as the tall college student- Techno, with his awkward smile and glasses. The second tallest was one wearing a beanie, with bangs usually covering his eye. Then the third- the shortest, with brown hair, blue eyes and a simple bee plushie in his arms. 

The four of them are found in most photos, ranging from different ages and time periods. The photo that seemed to have their youngest son as a baby was standing up on the dresser by the wall with the photos. It was Phil, holding a baby wrapped in a loose blanket, with two boys standing on either side of him. They look around the same age, and looked similar with their hair styles and even glasses, though their face shape is slightly different. Fraternal twins? Perhaps Techno and the beanie guy are twins.

Before he could move on though, he suddenly recognized a photo beside the family photo. 

Instead of Phil and his (assumingly) sons, it was a group photo. A really old photo, with only the color being in shades of yellow and brown. There were a group of students huddling together, fitting into the frame to get in the photo. 

All of them were smiling and doing silly poses. 

He recognized Phil, actually. He was at the front, kneeling down, a familiar shy smile on his face. The teen beside him was taller, but just as shy, his expression hidden behind a hand as if to conceal the smile on his face. There were two scars running over his entire right eye, making an ‘X’, though it seemed like he can still see through it though. 

There was another boy like him, with longer hair and similar scars standing at the back. He was messing with a surprisingly tall man with no distinguished features. A teen with a mask and a bandana over his hair tried to help the taller teen, but the attempt was futile seeing the eyes scrunched up, as if he was laughing. 

There were a few more. A boy sitting at the far left, smiling gently with a book in his hand. A girl with long hair and a flower crown behind him, her arms looped around his neck with a wide smile on her face. Three teens- one with shades on, the other with headphones around his neck, and the last with a hood over his head, smiling together. Two more girls at the back, arms over each other's shoulder and smiling. 

All of them wore a highschool uniform. 

Were these Phil’s friends…?

Strange… Why do they all look familiar? Perhaps he must have seen their faces in a newspaper back in his old school’s library-

“Tommy, did you get lost or something?” 

“N-No! Definitely not looking through your porn magazines-” Tommy replied quickly, not even realizing the words that left his mouth until he heard Schlatt’s boisterous laughter echo in the living room. 

“Nice try, kid. But my porn magazines are in my bedroom!” 

“What the FUCK Phil?!” Schlatt proceeded to wheeze like a dying man, and from there Tommy decided to ignore his curiosity with the photo and move on to the backyard. It’s… not his concern.

Upon sliding the door open, he can see a boy sitting down at the wooden steps, humming to himself. Just from seeing the dark hair, he was reminded of the boy he saw earlier on the porch. 

“Tubbo?” 

The boy jumped, and turned to stare at Tommy with wide, blue eyes in shock. He seemed to be genuinely surprised to see Tommy standing just a few steps away from him, despite the sliding door not hiding its rather loud presence when pushed. 

Tommy felt awkward now that Schlatt wasn’t with him. He’s alone with this boy who's around his age, and likely going to the same school as him. If he managed to fuck up this once in a lifetime opportunity of introducing himself as a well-mannered, sane and polite Big Man Tommy, then who knows how difficult his life will be in school? 

Tubbo could tell everyone how dumb he looked, standing there and slouching. His reputation could already be destroyed before even stepping into the school grounds. This town is small compared to the city- he was sure everyone knew what happened daily. If they hear the new kid was a dumbass, then fucking hell he already broke his promise to his parents-

“Bee.” 

Blinked. Blinked twice. 

“What?”

“There’s a bee on your shoulder.” 

A shrill scream escaped Tommy’s lips as he swatted away a small, black and yellow bee that was hovering over his left shoulder. Unfortunately, the bee managed to escape Tommy’s attempts of hitting it and had flown away into who knows where. Tommy’s heart was racing from having a bug that close to him, but what surprised him was the sound of laughter coming from the boy. 

The boy- Tubbo, he was laughing, his body bent over and his arms holding his stomach tightly. The sight left Tommy a bit irritated and embarrassed, even shameful for showing such vulnerability and frankly, girlish reaction to a fucking flying bug. 

But there was no sneer or maliciousness in Tubbo’s reaction. Tubbo just really thought of it as hilarious… It was kind of weird. Tommy didn’t know how what to think about that, since back at his old school, whenever he did something dumb, his schoolmates would make fun of him and even steal some of his school things from his bag. 

It’s… weird. 

“Sorry- Sorry.” Tubbo said, finally calming down from his laughing spree. “It was fucking funny. I’m Tubbo- though you already knew that.” 

He shot a hand out, patiently waiting for Tommy to accept his hand offer. However, Tommy found himself hesitating a bit. There were times he was given a hand, only for that same hand to pull away before he could grab it, making him a fool in the process. 

… Still, Tubbo really seemed like a nice dude. Phil seemed nice, so his son is nice as well, right? 

“Um, Tommy. I just moved in.” Tommy quietly said, his words slow and deliberate, hoping it doesn’t sound annoying. 

Tubbo chuckled. “The hell are you so formal for?” 

“I don’t… understand what you meant by that.” 

“You sound so awkward and polite. I mean, it’s nice to finally talk to someone nice but you don’t have to fake it. I get it if you don’t wanna talk to me- Dad probably told you to meet me outside, right? It’s okay, you don’t have to force yourself.”

It didn’t feel right that Tubbo sounded so nonchalant about what he said. There’s a sick feeling in Tommy’s stomach that Tubbo isn’t necessarily well liked by his peers- but also a sense of relief. At least there’s something the two of them have in common, so he doesn’t have to force himself to be someone else. 

With a small sigh, he sat down next to Tubbo on the steps. The other looked at him curiously. 

“You seem to be really fucking cool, Tubbo. Your dad is also cool, kind of a weirdo, but he’s cool. Oh, and your brother is a dick but he’s cool, too. So I’ll stick around whether you like it or not.” Tommy seemed to do a 180, but there was a boost of confidence in his voice as he practically declared their friendship despite only just meeting. 

Tubbo was shocked. “You’re not… joking?” 

“If I was, I honestly would have gone home by now. I’m serious, Tubbo. I don’t think either of us are very likable due to a bunch of reasons, but that’s what we have in common. Sides’, this town will probably be more bearable if I have a friend to hang out with.” 

Tommy nudged his shoulder against Tubbo. It was nostalgic, acting like this back in the city when he still had good friends by his side. Of course, he doubt Tubbo would be interested in sports like Tommy was, but he figured they’ll find something the two can do together. 

There was a bit of silence between them, a moment of contemplation as their new-found friendship was declared, before Tubbo nodded. “I like the sound of that. Being friends, I mean. If there’s anything you need, I- I’ll try my best! We’re neighbours, so you can visit anytime. Oh, and if you want to visit somewhere I can be your guide until you’re familiar with the area and stuff.” 

“Actually, are you free this afternoon? Apparently my guardian is gonna be out the whole day and is locking me out the house till’ nightfall, so I was wondering if you could like, tour me around and shit.”

“Guardian…? Oh, you mean Schlatt? Yea, I heard he had something to do with Phil for tonight, so they’ll be gone the entire afternoon.” 

Tommy gave Tubbo an odd look. Schlatt never mentioned anything about bringing Phil along… What exactly is he doing? 

“You know what those old hags are doing?” 

… Tubbo did not reply for quite awhile. In fact, he had immediately avoided his gaze once that question was asked. Tommy may not be intelligent, but it would have been pathetic to not realize that Tubbo actually knows the answer to that but has refused to share it with him. 

“Not the full details.” Tubbo ended up answering. “Er… I don’t really know how to bring this up-? Actually, wait. I don’t think Schlatt would want you to know… But it’s the core of this town so why not?...” Tubbo was merely mumbling to himself at the end. Tommy can’t help but shake his leg from curiosity. 

“Well, I guess you can say Schlatt and Phil have a very important job. It’s not like, their actual job and stuff, I guess you can say it’s more of a townspeople role? Like, uh, volunteering and shit like that. It’s an open secret I guess.” He shrugged. “Anyway, Schlatt should tell you about it. He should, considering you’ll be living here from now on.”

The use of ‘from now on’ made Tommy surprised. He was about to correct Tubbo when the other suddenly stood up, stretching by lifting his arms above his head. 

“Welp! You said you wanted a tour, right? Come on, there’s still daylight and there’s a ton of stuff I wanna show you before school starts on Monday.” 

School- oh yea, he still has to go to school to enrol there… Today is Saturday, so he can go there with Schlatt tomorrow. Sounds like a plan. 

A hand appeared in front of Tommy’s vision, and he looked up to find Tubbo offering a hand, small smile on his face. Tommy couldn’t help but smile back, accepting the hand with thanks and letting him pull him up to his feet. 

The boys walked back into the house to tell the adults that they were leaving, but the only one that was in the living room was Techno, sitting upside-down on the couch while using his phone. “Schlatt and Phil left awhile ago. Said to have fun and stuff.” Techno said, not looking at them. 

Tommy let out a small ‘Huh’ at the statement. It still somehow surprised him that they have already left without saying goodbye. Tubbo wasn’t bothered, so he assumed this was a normal occurence in this household. 

* * *

The iron blade lodged through the inky-black body, its cries soon lost within the wind as it perished. The body began to smoke, and its figure soon started to dissipate into thin air, the smell particularly ashy but not too unbearable. 

Schlatt heaved a sigh, lifting his sword up from the ground and turn to watch as Phil expertly threw a shadow over him using the blade of his spear. He smashed the shadow down on the ground, and flung it so its tip had penetrated through its head. It cried, but quickly died as its body began to dissipate as well. 

Phil didn’t look as tired as Schlatt, though it’s mainly because Phil had less of these shadows to deal with. 

“Another around the perimeter? Where are these shadows coming from?” Schlatt asked, mainly to himself, as he walked up to meet with Phil. 

They were at the very outskirts of town, close to where the woods are enclosing the town. The parking lot was basically devoid of any human activity, especially after the townspeople started talking about how there were more shadows there than normal. 

Phil took a look around, confirming that they were the only ones there at the parking lot. 

“No idea, mate. Area cleared for now, though, so we should be free to go on ahead. Where the others?” 

“Hell if I know- one of them has a baby now, so I doubt he would want to leave his newborn kid alone for a while. And the others need to catch up on some studying after our last visit a week ago.” 

Phil looked sheepish at the mention of their reasons. “Well, that means the Hermits are out of commission for a while… And I can’t ask our usual team to come, either. They have exams coming up.” 

Schlatt scoffed. “Exams… They’re just getting younger and younger, aren’t they?”

“Hey, new blood to fuck around with.” Phil laughed, nudging Schlatt’s shoulder with his fist. “How about we check around the perimeter to see if there are any stranglers around? Then when we have time, go and pay the other side a visit?” 

The two men nodded to each other, and almost in sync, swiped their weapons to the side and let go of the handles. Immediately, the weapons had disappeared into golden particles, nowhere to be found. 

They began to walk around the perimeter, talking amongst themselves while keeping an eye out. 

… 

Behind one of the stores closest to the parking lot, hid a young figure. Their mis-matched eyes watched the humans walk farther and farther away until they were out of sight. Once the coast was clear, they let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. 

Their legs began to shake, and they allowed themselves to crumble from the nervous energy they felt. Although their hands remained calm as they picked up a small, tattered book, and flipped through the latest page. 

With a half-broken pencil, they began to write frantically. 

When done, they turned away from the parking lot, and headed straight to a large, green dumpster. 


	2. September 7 | ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy walks around town with his new friend, Tubbo. He meets a bunch of peculiar people, most of which seemed familiar. He also gets used to his new surroundings.
> 
> The threat of shadows ever so slowly grows.

Despite the town being considered small, it was still quite a walk to visit certain areas that are commonly used by the townspeople for various errands. They’re more localized, and not like a mall, but it has everything they need. Plus, it’s only a walking distance away- beats having to use the bus every time to go to the nearby mall.

The two boys walked around the town for two hours, talking to each other and getting to know one another better. Along the way, they had arrived at the shopping district, and Tubbo would point out different shops that seemed interesting to point out, and also tell him about the shop owners. 

“That’s the bakery that’s been around for generations. Right now, the old lady behind the counter is still running the place, but soon her granddaughter will inherit the family store.” 

Tommy hummed, eyeing the small but cute little bakery. He could smell the aroma of freshly baked bread from where he was standing at the other side of the road. “Granddaughter, huh? What happened to the old lady’s kids?” 

“The lady- Ms. Chu’s daughter and her husband drowned during an overseas trip, a long time ago.” Tubbo sadly explained. They decided to jaywalk across the road when there were no cars in sight. “It was for their honeymoon after getting married. Their daughter only came into the picture when they fondued during highschool, but instead of giving her up they decided to keep her and start a family.”

Tommy frowned, feeling sympathy for the girl and her grandma. He honestly can’t imagine having to grow up without any parents. Even though his own parents weren’t really there to interact with him, he at least had them by his side. So he can’t complain. 

“Honestly, it was hard for them. The townspeople looked down on them cuz’ of their actions to have a baby before marriage, but they were happy and had each other. Furthermore, Ms. Chu was there to support them in their time of need. There were others that helped too, like Phil, Schlatt and Doc.” 

The new name piqued Tommy’s interest. “Doc?”

Tubbo pointed behind Tommy, a store two blocks down. Tommy couldn’t see much, but it doesn’t look spontaneous one bit, that’s for sure. “Doc has a repair shop just down there. If you need anything, he can fix it for you. You can also sell scrap there and he’ll take it- he’s a tinkerer, so anything he can use to make something, he’ll happily buy it off you.”

“Kinda contradicting his name, honestly. How’d he help her?”

“Since his shop is close to the bakery, he usually looked after the girl- her name is Niki, by the way. He looked after her when she was way younger and too young to help Ms. Chu with the bakery. He’s a pretty nice guy- but I heard not many people usually visit his shop since they find him scary.”

“... Is he really that scary?” Tommy couldn’t help but question. Tubbo shrugged. 

“Rumor has it that he used to work as a mercenary in the city. He came to this town just a couple of years ago to… what was it again? Take up his friend’s shop or something like that? He’s not as scary as many make out to be- He’s a pretty gentle guy, but I do admit he can and will get violent if he has to. Oh, did I mention he lost an eye?” 

Tubbo actually looked thoughtful, bringing a finger up to his chin and scrunching up his eyebrows in concentration. Tommy had no idea why Tubbo was thinking so hard about this, but not long after that his eyes widened, and pointed somewhere above Tommy’s ahead. Suddenly, Tommy could feel a presence behind him, and the hairs on his neck began to stand. 

Slowly, he turned. 

Behind the teen stood a large, and tall man. He was only taller by a few inches at most, but still managed to tower over Tommy who he considered himself to be quite tall. The height did not make Tommy fear for his life when he realized how fucking ripped this man was. Despite having quite a thin waist (not as thin as Tommy’s, that’s for sure), his arms were bulging against a long, dark green trench coat that ended just on his mid-thighs. 

(Those arms compared to Tommy made the man look so ridiculously strong. Screw his scrawny weak arms)

Other than the dark gloves, the other prominent part about him was his face. Dark hair mainly contained in a baseball cap, his stubbled jaw, and his eyes. 

His right eye was in a darkish green color, one that Tommy was sure he hadn’t seen before. And his other eye… It was covered behind an eyepatch. Despite the scary appearance, Tommy couldn’t help but feel as if he had seen him before.

The man looked at Tommy, studying him, raising an eyebrow when he noticed Tommy actually shaking from fear. Then he looked over at Tubbo. 

“Hey, Tubbo.”

“Hello, Doc!” 

Tubbo seemed cheerful to see him. Fortunately, Tubbo also grabbed Tommy’s arms to pull him beside him and away from Doc. “This is Tommy! He’s moving in today. Tommy, this is Doc.” 

“Oh, the new kid in town.” Doc nodded to himself, crossing his arms and eyeing Tommy up and town. “... Your scrawny as hell kid. You've been working out?” Surprised, Tommy can only shake his head no in response. 

“Well, you better start. Doesn’t matter what- no way you’ll survive in this town with those weak arms, not to mention legs.” 

“Give him a break, Doc. He’s from the city.” Tubbo laughed it off, but even he seemed a bit awkward with Doc's words. “He’ll get used to things around here soon enough.” 

Doc shrugged. “Sure. Welcome to our town, by the way.” He gave Tommy a wave before walking ahead. Tommy and Tubbo stood aside and watched as Doc walked back into his store without as much as giving them a glance. 

“... Dude, I think I shat my pants.” 

Tubbo looked disgusted. “Ew.”

“You didn’t tell me you know Doc personally!” 

“Can’t be helped! He knows Phil and so it’s only natural I know him! Anyway, I should show you the path to school so you’ll be more familiar with it. Honestly it's a bit of a walk from our houses but it’s not as bad- besides, the buses don't get us anywhere to the school, so we have to walk there regardless unless we have a bike or something.” Tubbo said, and not long after that he suddenly declared that he’ll buy some bread before leaving the shopping district, and went inside, leaving Tommy alone. 

Tommy couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. Doc, a scary guy that lost an eye and is rumored to be an ex-mercenary, is actually friends with Phil? Tubbo’s father, who wore an apron and kept porn magazines under his bed to amuse Tommy’s jokes. And who also seems to be a really nice man. Those two are friends? 

Why does it feel like he had seen him before, though? Tommy can’t help but rack his brain for answers. This was clearly the first time he had met Doc, but there was something about his face that seemed recognizable… 

Lost in thought, he didn’t realize there was somebody on the sidewalk until they knocked shoulders with him. 

“Hey! Watch it-” Tommy snapped, turning around to meet eyes with a man. He wasn’t as tall as Doc this time, though he does reach Tommy’s height (if he stands up straight, that is). He wore a lime green hoodie with white accents on the sleeve, his hands hidden in the pockets of the hoodie. His jeans were fitted, but he could see stitches at some parts. The jeans were unfortunately unable to hide the shoes that made Tommy feel disappointed for him. 

His hair was dirty blonde, though more on the brunette side compared to Tommy’s blonde hair. Light tan skin with small scars in some areas, and green eyes that stared back at Tommy, half confused and half annoyed. 

“You were standing in the way.” He replied, his voice even. 

Tommy grumbled. “I was preoccupied… You could’ve just walked around me.” 

“I was lost in thought…” He shrugged, his annoyance disappearing as he shook his head. He then looked at Tommy closely. “Hm… You’re not from around here, are you?” 

“Seriously, does everyone know each other or something?!” 

The man shrugged again, though he seemed to be amused with Tommy’s reaction. “Compared to anywhere else, it’s a small town. Word gets around eventually, and while everyone doesn’t know everyone, you’ll eventually recognize some, if not all familiar faces once you lived here for a couple of months.” He paused. “You a city boy?”

“That easy to tell?” 

“Nah, just recognize the brand of the shirt you’re wearing. Very common in big cities, you can find that anywhere. But here? Closest store that has the same brand is in the nearby city eight stations away.” He gestured at the red-white shirt Tommy was wearing. “Their stuff is good though.”

He then pulled his hand out from his pocket and offered it to Tommy. 

“Name’s Clay. And you are…?” 

Tommy was perplexed with the situation he found himself in to the point he didn’t question the odd name. Awkwardly, he accepted Clay’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “Tommy.”

“Is that a nickname?”

Tommy sighed. “Are you always this nosy?” 

Clay laughed, and let go. “Sorry. Oh, I’m also a city boy like you, so I know how different things can get. It’ll take time, but eventually you’ll get used to living here. Anyway, I’ll be off now. Welcome to our lovely town.” 

Before Tommy could respond, Clay gave Tommy a good-bye wave, similar to Doc’s but more slack. He turned and walked away. 

Tommy stared at Clay’s back, wondering why he’s feeling weirded out. It only took him a minute to realize that Clay was actually going back to the direction that he was walking from-

“Hey! Sorry that took awhile- I was in a conversation with Ms. Chu and it was interesting. What do you think about-?” Tubbo had walked out of the store, a hand holding a plastic bag full of baked goods and began to ramble. Tommy didn’t realize he was spacing out, staring at the direction where Clay had gone when Tubbo placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t move.

“You alright?” Tubbo asked, worried. Tommy blinked, snapping out of his trance and giving Tubbo a nod for reassurance. 

“Yea, don’t know why I spaced out. Anyway, what have you got for me?” 

“Oh! You got to try these sugar coated bread loafs- it’s simple but it’s really good and one of my favorites!” 

Tommy accepted the bread in a small plastic bag from Tubbo. While Tubbo animatedly began to talk, and they were now walking towards the school, Tommy took a bite out of the bread. 

It was nice, he had to admit. But Tommy suddenly had the urge to puke after chewing. He pushed through to stomach the bitten bread, but he felt sick afterwards. 

“Tommy?” 

There was a soft, but annoying pressure on his head. Tommy rubbed his head, groaning softly. “Is this bread drugged or something? I feel weird.” 

“It… Is it? I’m sure it isn’t- maybe you got car sick or train sick when you got here, and this is the first thing you’re eating and your stomach decided it sucks?” Tubbo said out-loud, before shaking his head. “Do you want to go back? Or need to sit down?” 

Tommy felt bad that Tubbo was worrying about him. To be quite frank, Tommy was also worried about the sudden feeling of being sick, but he pushed it down as something he can worry about another day. Or maybe it’s just like Tubbo said, he just got train-car-sick and his stomach was actually acting up. 

Besides, there’s still a lot of daylight left. Schlatt won’t be back for a while.

“Do you at least know where I can get a drink? Preferably some coke.” 

* * *

They had to take a little detour to reach the nearest vending machine, which happened to be another neighborhood along the main road which lead to the school and shopping district respectively. It wasn’t as big, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of houses around. But the sight of the blue vending machine made the trip worth it.  


Since Tommy didn’t actually have any money, Tubbo happily paid for both of their drinks. One coke zero for Tommy, and regular coke for himself. They drank in silence by the vending machine, letting the cold drink cool down their bodies in the afternoon sun. 

“That was fucking good.” Tommy said once he drank half of the can. 

Tubbo laughed. “Are you feeling better? We still have to walk a bit…” 

“Seriously, how far is the fucking school?” 

“We’re in the countryside after all… And the highschool is actually connected to the college here. So they need all the space and stuff like that. Oh! I forgot to mention- school’s open to the public everyday except for Sunday after school hours, with the exception for Saturday.” 

Tommy hummed to himself. Tubbo munched on his bread, throwing away the plastic to the nearest bin before they decided to take off towards the school. They still have their drinks in their hands. “Why Saturday?” 

Tubbo mumbled something with his mouth full of bread. He swallowed and drank his coke. “Saturday isn’t considered a school day, but some clubs here have practices on that day. Sometimes, some students have to come to school to have extra lessons with the teachers. Compared to weekdays, Saturday closes school way earlier, but when it’s open its available to the public, so we can come in whenever without any issue.”

It was at that moment that Tommy realized he and Schlatt won’t be able to go to school tomorrow, due to it being closed. How the hell is he gonna get enrolled in? Unless he skipped the first day of school… 

“Must be hard for the teachers to have an extra day of school.” 

Tubbo actually laughed. “Well, for most it is. But there are some that are devoted to the student’s learning, of which they are the nice ones. The other teachers are kind of dickheads.”

So basically nothing much changed in the school system, Tommy noted, even out in the country like this. 

Though, he should feel fortunate that there are some nice teachers like what Tubbo had said. Back in Tommy’s old school, no one gave a shit. There wasn't a lot of bullying, but it was still present, just hidden somewhere in the school. Tommy didn’t have much of a shitty reputation, so he was free from any harassment from his peers.

… At least, that’s what happened during his first year. 

After a certain… incident, everything came spiraling down. It honestly didn’t do much but damage his social circle and maybe destroyed nearly half of his school supplies. It was annoying at best and downright miserable at worst. It was also then that Tommy realized that no one batted an eye to the kids that were being harassed in the hallways, or even in class. 

The teachers pretended to not notice, and the school staff feigned ignorance to such actions. Hell, the disciplinary committee barely disciplined anyone. 

He was truly lucky that no one resorted to do anything physical with him.

If anything good happened from having to move hours away from the city, it would be that he didn’t have to spend his second year of highschool there.

(He ignored the fact that he would be leaving next year, and that he’ll have to return to that school regardless.)

Tubbo moved on to talking about the students there, both highschool and college. It seemed that there’s no rule about either side not being able to visit each other’s campuses, as well as not being able to buy from the cafeteria or the shops. They’re only allowed to visit each other’s areas only after school hours, which would be around 4 P.M. Or somewhere there. It’s quite common to find college students visiting the highschool grounds, and vice versa. 

Tommy was lost listening to Tubbo’s words, he nearly didn’t notice two people coming towards them. 

His peripheral vision allowed him to recognize one tall man wearing a sleek black vest over a long, white button up shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows with a red tie tucked inside the vest. He wore black trousers and black shoes. His entire get-up screamed of someone whose proper and not one for country-life. His hair was also combed back with little strands of hair touching his forehead, and a small growing mustache on his face. The man’s dark eyes were glaring at the other, shorter male who was laughing at something he himself said. 

The other was wearing a red sweater that seemed a bit oversized, and a white button-up undershirt with the collars poking out. His attire was more casual, with cuffed grey jeans and red sneakers, and his sandy-blonde hair was messier than the taller male’s more cleaner hairstyle. His dark eyes were also hidden behind a pair of thin frames. 

They nearly passed the two boys until the taller male took notice of Tubbo, and stopped. 

“Oh! Uh, Tubbo, right?” 

Tommy and Tubbo stopped walking and turned to the older males. The taller one had an awkward smile on his face. Tommy realized he was carrying a box of… what he assumed were old books. With one hand, the male held the books easily while he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to Tubbo. 

“You’re going to your school, yes? Can you pass this to Mr. Hills, he should still be in the teacher’s faculty office.” 

Tubbo accepted the paper, and without a moment to waste, unfolded the paper. The taller male gawked at the action, but the shorter one began to laugh. 

“... Are you asking your ex-teacher out on a date?”

“NO! WHY- IT WAS GRIAN’S IDEA!” He pointed at his friend, who was struggling to keep it together. 

‘Grian’ laughed harder, and with a big smile on his face, replied, “Well, it’s not a _date_. But it certainly sounds like one, eh? We just wanted to hang out with our old teacher.”

Curious, Tommy looked over to read the note himself. 

_ Free tomorrow? Let’s go to that cafe you like! - G and M _

It was written in a neat handwriting, almost mimicking a girl’s handwriting if anything. 

Tommy felt like he was being watched, and tore his gaze away from the paper to notice Grian looking at him oddly. He had stopped laughing, and there was a strange smile on his face. He didn’t look happy to see him, though. It made Tommy nervous. 

“I forgot to ask… whose this?” The taller male asked, oblivious to the change of behaviour on Grian. Tubbo patted Tommy’s back as he introduced him to them, but Tommy was too focused on looking at the spot beside the tall male to avoid eye-contact with Grian. There’s something about his stare that rubbed him the wrong way… 

“Nice to meet you, Tommy! I’m Mumbo.” He placed a hand on his own chest and gave a curt nod towards Tommy.

“And I’m Grian. Welcome to our town.” Grian smiled, and soon that strange look on his face was gone to replace it with one of politeness. “Are you visiting the school by any chance?” 

“Yep. I’m just showing Tommy around. He’ll be attending L’manburg High.” 

Grian nodded, though he was facing Tommy still. 

… Now that he thought about it, something about Grian seemed familiar, like what happened with Doc earlier. Where had he seen him before?

“Oh, we should be off now. Come on, Grian! Stress and Iskall aren’t going to be pleased with us being late.” Mumbo said, tugging on Grian’s arm. The man finally broke his gaze from Tommy to give his friend a nod. 

“Yea. Well, it’s nice to see you again, Tubbo! Hope to see you around too, Tommy.” 

Just like that, the two of them waved them goodbye and went on their way. Tommy then noticed something shimmering on both of their behinds- and saw charms dangling from their belts. They were in a peculiar shape in the shade of gold, but on the inner side was a circular gem. For Grian, the orb was mint green. For Mumbo, the orb was entirely yellowish gold. 

He didn’t know why he found them peculiar, but then realized it looked the same as Schlatt’s gold charm from earlier. 

Huh, why is he so interested? 

Deciding to ignore that weird fact for now, Tommy turned to Tubbo. “Seems like you know them.” 

Tubbo looked awkward. “Not really. Grian and Mumbo do visit the highschool grounds most of the time, but I don’t know them personally. I only ever knew their names cuz’ they’re friends with Mr. Hills, my teacher. I guess you can say Mr. Hills used to teach them since they previously studied in his class… Anyway, this is a perfect excuse to also show you around school. Just a warning, though, it’s not as interesting compared to the college campus.” 

Tommy thought he was exaggerating but when they reached the school gates… But he had to agree. There was nothing outstanding about the school besides its logo in front, as well as the words _L’MANBURG HIGH_ under it. The building itself, while still sturdy, seemed old and in need of a repaint sooner than later. 

“... So, this is country life, eh?” 

“Not as bad as most city-boys think.” Tubbo shot back, nudging Tommy’s shoulder with his fist. He gave him a small smile. “Come on, I’ll show you around school then afterwards we can go visit the college campus next door.”

Tommy nodded, and soon started following Tubbo into the school. 

There were barely any students mingling about, though he did see a boy wearing a purple hoodie exit through the doors, checking his phone. He passed by them, and Tommy soon forgot about him as Tubbo pulled him into the school building. 

* * *

“So, the rate of them appearing has been steadily increasing since three months ago…” 

“Seems like it. What’s your take on it, Joe?” 

Joe Hills tapped his red pen against the stack of test papers, thinking. His phone felt heavy resting on his other hand, close to his ear where he could hear Phil talking to Schlatt in the background. They were having a quick break from clearing out the shadows. 

“I can’t seem to make a conclusion about this. It’s really strange… Last time we had such an influx of shadows was when we were still in highschool.” 

“Don’t forget six years ago, too. About that whole incident with Grian.” 

Joe nodded to himself, the memory resurfacing of that certain sandy-haired man he once taught six years ago. “I really hope it’s not the same case. Who knows how many gods we have to deal in this town… We can’t risk casualties.” 

“Yea, I know. Don’t worry, mate. Schlatt and I are nearly done checking this side of town, where most of the reports are said to see a lot of shadows around here. Though I fear we may stumble upon an entry hole from where the shadows could be coming from, as far as I can tell, they’ve just been coming up here by themselves.” 

Joe nodded once again, subconsciously twiddling the pen with his fingers. “Regardless, it’s best to check the other side, see if anything changed.” 

“Didn’t Wilbur go there like… three days ago?” He heard Schlatt ask, telling Joe that Phil had put them on speaker. 

Phil sounded surprised. “Wait- that’s where he went-?”

“... Oops.” 

“He’s been going there a lot…” Phil sounded exasperated. “That man has college! But you’re right. If he had noticed anything strange, he would have told any of us by now. Regardless, Schlatt and I are gonna check it out ourselves.” 

“Stay near the entry-point unless you have two others with you.” Joe reminded them, or at least reminded Phil. He knew from experiences that Phil would not venture too far out without any proper equipment, nonetheless a full team. Schlatt on the other hand… 

“Got it, nav. We’ll be heading off.” 

He chuckled at the nickname, and wished Phil a soft ‘take care’ before the call ended.

Before he could resume his teaching duties, he caught the color of orange from the corner. He couldn’t help but lift his head from the papers to gaze upon a framed photo on his desk. 

It was a photo taken of himself and his best friend. 

The sight of her arms around his neck and her long hair flowing over her shoulder… She always loved to see what he was up to, looking over his shoulder or over his head whenever he was sitting down reading a book. Eventually, she would just slung her arms over him as if it was normal. 

It still made his heart beat faster, remembering the tingles of her skin against his. 

In the picture, the two were in their school uniforms and smiling widely at the camera. During that time, it cost money to print photos in color. He fondly remembered having this photo printed, and for his other friends to complain that the photo they had together as a group can only be in a single color. They had a laugh about it. 

“Hope you’re doing well, Cleo. I miss you.” Joe whispered to himself, bringing a finger up to trace the outline of her flower crown. When he pulled his hand away, he caught sight of a golden charm sitting just behind the photo frame, hidden from view. 

Ah, that must be where he left it. 

Picking up the photo, he took the charm from its spot. He inspected the gold color that seemed to have lost its shine, tracing his thumb over the rough surface. He hadn’t used it that much since highschool but… He couldn’t help but feel sad, seeing his reflection on the dull, grey surface of the orb staring back at him. 

He hastily hid the charm in his pocket when he heard the door knocking, before it was slid open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of characters are introduced in this chapter, majority of them being the hermits.  
> Yes, those from hermitcraft are also part of this story if you didn't catch Phil mentioning them in the previous chapter.  
> They, and by that I mean Joe, seems to know a lot about those shadow beings like Phil and Schlatt


	3. September 7 | iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy meets Mr. Hills, Tubbo's homeroom teacher. He also meets more teachers, just not the usual method.   
> By the end of his first day in this new town, he reflects.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hills.” Tubbo said, bowing slightly as he pushed the door aside and ushered Tommy to come in. 

Tommy felt awkward being in an unfamiliar place, not to mention in a place where most of the teachers usually hold their personal things and class stuff on their desks. Speaking of such desks, it's somewhat cramped in the room with so many desks pushed together. There was a line of desks on the wall with the windows, and two more lines of desks on either side of the room. The rest were pushed together on the centre in a two row, with a short wall between the spaces of the row. On the desks are filled with… various teacher stuff he would not look into. 

Mr. Hills was seated on the far left seat on the rows, and he seemed surprised to see Tubbo on the weekend. 

“Oh, good afternoon, Tubbo. Do you need something?” The surprisingly young teacher asked, pushing his long dark hair out of his face and behind his ears. Tommy made a noise when Tubbo grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the teacher.

“Mumbo and Grian wanted me to give this to you.” Tubbo said, passing the teacher the note. Mr. Hills looked suspicious as he accepted the note, but a chuckle was released when he read the contents. 

“Ah, those two… It has been awhile since I last saw them. Very well, thank you Tubbo.” Mr. Hills nodded in appreciation, then noticed Tommy just standing there. He pushed his glasses further up his nose as he inspected Tommy, which made the taller teen nervous again. “Hm… Are you a student here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” 

“Tommy.” Tommy quickly said, beating Tubbo to it. “I’m not a student yet, but I will be.” 

“... Oh! You’re Thomas Pandel. I have been told we were expecting a new student sometime soon.” Mr. Hills looked surprised, though towards himself. He then scribbled something down on a sticky note. “I hope you know you would have to enroll in this school with your guardian. The earliest you can do so is this Monday. Don’t worry too much about the documents and stuff- your guardian had already handled that. All you need to do is just sign some documents, and buy your school uniform.”

Tommy was baffled as Mr. Hills gave him the sticky note- which was a few reminders of what he just said. 

Looking at the teacher, he didn’t look so… out of place. Maybe his hair is a tad bit longer than needed to be, and maybe his beard seemed a bit unkempt. His glasses also kept on falling off his nose, and Tommy noted that his blue buttoned up shirt had a coffee stain at the side. If anything, this man looked like he needed sleep badly. But there’s something else about him...

“I have a feeling you’re not just some regular teacher.” Tommy said out-loud. 

Mr. Hills laughed. “Officially, I am an English and Literature teacher, as well as Tubbo’s homeroom teacher. Unofficially, I fill up the role of Vice Principal.” 

So in other words, Mr. Hills is actually a really important figure in this school. Who the hell just tells anyone that they fill up the role of Vice Principal? Unofficially? 

Tubbo nodded, as if to confirm Mr. Hills’ words. “Yep. Anyway, we’ll be going off now, see you Monday!” 

He was quick to be pulled out of the room. The sudden want to leave made Tommy unsure, but he saw Mr. Hills give them all a quick wave of goodbye, a kind smile on his face. 

“Yo, that was fucking weird.” Tommy ended up commenting once they left the hallway with the faculty room. They now find themselves in a hallway full of lockers- though he noted there weren’t a lot. Some were even broken. 

“Sorry. It made me feel awkward talking to Mr. Hills outside of school for so long.” Tubbo looked apologetic. He shrugged afterwards. “Casual conversations with teachers are so weird…”

“Tell me about it. Though Hills seemed nice, so I’m not complaining too much.” 

Tubbo grinned. “Yea. Let’s move on.”

* * *

The highschool wasn’t that bad, honestly. It’s not as big compared to his old highschool for good reason, too. 

There weren’t a lot of students in L’manburg High, only enough to keep the school running. He was told it’s because Hypix Prep had more of a reputation for having a lot of good graduates, and also better facilities. It’s only about… eight stops away, located in the nearby city. The train fare isn’t that bad, but Tommy found it a hassle to have to spend a few dollars to spend about an hour or more commuting. It took him nearly the entire day just to come here from his city, after all. 

Funny enough, the college next door has some good reputation that’s bringing graduates from both L’manburg High and Hypix Prep. Phoenix Drop, as bizarre the name is, is quite good for being located in the countryside. 

Most, if not all the citizens had attended that college. 

Tubbo was knowledgeable about a lot of these schools. He memorized the layout of both L’manburg High and Phoenix Drop mainly out of boredom, and knows all the secret rooms and passages. While he doesn’t use them at all, the fact he knew about them in the first place makes Tubbo a lot more cooler. 

Though, the reasoning for it was sad. 

“I don’t really know how it began, but it started in elementary school.” Tubbo started. The two were sitting down in the college cafeteria, where there was barely anyone and only a stall was open. The old auntie there was very kind and gave them their drinks. “I wasn’t very sociable, and I wasn’t too interested in what the other kids were doing. I wasn’t the smartest, either, and I’m constantly behind class cuz’ of my dyslexia.” 

“You have dyslexia?” 

“Mhmm, made it harder for me to read. I didn’t start taking therapy for it until much later, so I wasn’t able to get help at the time. Honestly, I think the kids just thought I was too weird to hang out with.” Tubbo sighed, leaning his cheek on his fist. “But… I don’t know. They weren’t bullies, they just ignored me. Pretended I wasn’t there.” 

Tommy frowned. “Not sure if I prefer that over being bullied.”

“Pick your poison, right? Anyway, it got worse when I got into middle school. It only took me maybe last year to realize they didn’t have a problem with me, instead it’s because of my family.”

That surprised him. Phil seemed like a really nice guy and while Techno was… Techno, he wasn’t bad at all. 

“How so?” 

“Phil has a lot of connections with the teachers in both highschool and college despite being a stay-home dad. They figured that the teachers would suck up to me cuz’ I was Phil’s son. And Techno’s like a star student in Phoenix Drop. Which is ironic since Techno doesn’t like college and if he had the choice, he would have dropped out by now. But he’s competing against this other student for some reason… Kind of weird, but his reputation precedes him. Not to mention Wilbur- my brother. He’s really smart, good-looking and an awesome guitarist. Girls flock over him all the time.” Tubbo let out a deep sigh, leaning back on his seat. 

Tommy looked down at his can of coke- a second one today. He twirled the contents around to have something to do with his hands as he thought. 

“Are you jealous?” 

“Of my family? Hell no. Techno complained about having to leave the house for any errand and Wilbur had to evade girls and guys like, all the time. Phil has to keep up with all of our shit but that makes our family work. Me? I’m just a kid that knows things cuz’ he had nothing better to do… Though not everyone in class knew that.” 

“So, what? They don’t like you because they have shit on your brothers and Phil?” 

“Pretty much, yea.” Tubbo shrugged, sipping on his ice lemon tea drink. “They see me as someone easy to pick in the Watsons. So whatever shit or jealousy they have on my family, they take it out on me. Not that it bothered me or anything… Just made it difficult to make friends.” 

Friends… 

It was easier to make friends when you’re young and naive. Tommy had a lot of friends- boasted about it to his family at some point when he was still in elementary school. He didn’t have a taste of what being lonely is like at school, where everywhere you look, people whisper about you and stare at you as if you’re not… human.

Tommy was truly lucky he wasn’t treated harshly for most of his life, but that luck also made him blind to what’s been happening all around him. 

He had to admit, Tubbo was strong. Even though he didn’t have any friends, he still had his family by his side. He also have Ms. Chu, hell even Doc and his homeroom teacher. 

Maybe that’s better than having a lot of friends who would easily backstab you.

“Eh, I’m your friend now. If any of those dickheads come for you then I’ll punt them!” Tommy said, a confident smile on his face. Of course, he’s not actually that skilled in fighting but… He was willing to protect someone like Tubbo if need be. That’s what he’s good at, after all! Beating up shitty people and stuff! 

“Thank you, Tommy. I can’t assure you that if they see you hanging out with me, they would think of you as a friend…” 

“Doesn’t matter. I can make friends elsewhere and if they end up being dicks, then fuck em’.” 

Tubbo giggled.

After that conversation, they decided to head back to Tubbo’s house to wait for Phil and Schlatt to come back. It was close to being evening now, and the sun will be setting very soon. Tubbo said he had to go to the bathroom, and left Tommy alone to wait near the cafeteria. He was scrolling through his old text messages when he heard two pairs of footsteps, and looked up to see two men running by him. 

“Sorry! Excuse me!” One of them said, dodging Tommy. He sounded younger than he looked, and looked more like a college teacher as he wore a simple black buttoned up shirt and an ID tag around his neck. The other looked younger by a bit, and wore a similar outfit except he was wearing a brown cardigan over his attire. An ID tag was also around his neck.

He noticed two charms on their belt loops, the first man having a deep, ocean blue color on his orb while the other with the cardigan had a purple color to it. 

Tommy wished he could deny the fact, but this is no coincidence that he kept on seeing that same charm on more than one person. It can’t just be a regular local accessory either- it’s too big to be a simple keychain, not to mention the strange vibe he got just by looking at it. Also, they’re in the countryside. What benefit would they have, showcasing that charm that looked like it was made of gold and gems? No, he would not ignore it this time. He was too curious to ignore it, anyway. 

The two men seemed to be in a panic, rushing to wherever they needed to go. Tommy didn’t have to be stealthy since they never had to look back. As long as Tommy can see where they’re going, he had no problem following. 

Halfway through the campus, he remembered that Tubbo would be wondering where he was. He rationalised that he’ll just be taking a peek then going back. And if Tubbo asked where he was, he can just say that he wanted to look around the area but got lost. Sure, Tubbo would get suspicious but Tommy promised it’ll just be a quick peek… That’s all. 

The two men eventually lead Tommy to what he assumed was the centre of campus. It was a square like empty patch of land, with the statue of a Phoenix right at the centre. Tommy hid behind a large tree by a bench, peeking over to watch what the two men were doing. 

They were standing around, heads turning everywhere as if they were searching for something. They were near enough that Tommy could hear faintly of what they were saying. 

“Skiz said there was a sighting, right?” The taller man asked, looking worried as he checked his phone. “If that’s the case, that means there has to be an entry point.” 

“I doubt so, Impulse.” The cardigan man said, shaking his head no. “It’s only a few, they likely just came up on their own. If there was a lot then it would be a problem, but Skiz said there were… maybe two or three of them.” 

“What a hassle. I have test papers to hand out. Why can’t our lives be easier, Zedaph?” ‘Impulse’ groaned, making Zedaph laugh. However, their joke was short-lived as the ground began to shake. 

Tommy stopped breathing when he felt the concrete ground beneath him started to vibrate, as if something was coming up from below. He held onto the side of the benches for dear-life, but made sure to keep himself hidden from sight. 

Impulse and Zedaph suddenly stood in attention, their stances one of where they prepare for battle. Though between the two, Impulse looked more ready as he eyed the ground for any sign. 

Then as if time had stopped, the ground below the two men darkened. 

Almost immediately, Zedaph and Impulse jumped out of the way as a fountain of black goo sprouted from the ground, splattering all over the place. Tommy can’t hide his shock as the same goo started moving around until they formed three huge lumps, and began to take form. 

As if prepared, the two men swiped their hands to the side. Tommy watched as weapons were materialized in their hands out of golden particles. For Impulse, he had a huge ass sword with a bright, blue handle and a turquoise blade. For Zedaph, it was a… whip? 

“What the fuck is going on…” Tommy asked himself. He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not- it felt like a dream, but he was most certain he was wide-awake and seeing this in full action. Tommy gripped the edge of the bench harder, and couldn’t deny the beat of his heart was faster than before as he watched in anticipation of what would happen. 

The three black goo began to take shape, before three creatures formed before them. Two were large, animal-like beings with antlers and muscles (for some reason). They were standing up and wearing pants… What the fuck. 

The last one was a bird creature thing. It looked like a crow, but the wings were purple and the beak maybe had a bit more of a bend at the end. If his biology teacher saw this he would have lost his shit. 

The appearances were very bizzare-looking and none that Tommy had seen before. However, it seemed like both Impulse and Zedaph had experienced, for they quickly jumped into action. 

Zedaph unleashed his whip and expertly directed the bird creature to go towards him, leaving the two big fellas to Impulse. He didn’t seem worried, but instead began to swing his huge sword, slashing whatever skin he could damage. He took advantage of his momentum and using the weight of the sword to his advantage. It looked like he had been doing this for a long time.

Though… Tommy saw Impulse’s charm glowing. The man then jumped back, and with a shout, struck the ground in front of the two creatures. For a moment Tommy thought the man had broken the ground, but saw that a wave of water suddenly came out from below the creatures, drenching them. Not only that, there were now water-like particles around Impulse’s weapon. 

Impulse then continued to fight the monsters with his… drenched? Weapon? It seemed like he was doing damage to them, all things considered, as they howled in pain and attacked Impulse whenever they can, only to miss thanks to Impulse’s quick movements. 

Zedaph had used his whip to distract the bird. But seeing Impulse drench his enemies, the teacher now changed tactics, and managed to wrap one of the bird’s legs with his whip. It caught on, and he pulled it. The bird began to squeak and tried to fly away, only for Zedaph to pull it further. Then, his charm began to glow. 

The weapon suddenly had purple sparks coming from it, leading up from the handle to where it was wrapped around the bird. The bird squeaked as it was zapped, its movements now halting every few seconds. 

“Zedaph!” Impulse called, jumping out of an oncoming attack from one of the monsters. 

Zedaph nodded, and used the whip to fling the bird towards the monsters. Upon contact, all three monsters were being electrocuted since the bird was now wet thanks to them, and the monsters were now electrocuted thanks to the bird. 

Zedaph was… brutal as he kept on flinging the bird around. But with the pauses on the monsters’ movements, Impulse was able to deliver the final blows. 

His blade had struck the side of one of the monsters, who wailed in pain before suddenly losing its form and going back to its original, black goo. It slowly disintegrated… 

The other monster suffered the same fate as Impulse actually decapitated its head before it turned into goo. 

Tommy didn’t catch the bird dying, but seeing as it was only the two men left on the courtyard, he assumed it was taken care of. 

“Would have been more fun if Skiz was with us.” Impulse said, breathing heavily as he held his sword, grinning. “Just permanently freeze them all the time.” 

“Your claymore is going to shatter the ice, Imp.” Responded Zedaph, who sighed as he let go of the whip and watch it turn into golden particles. Tommy’s eyes widened at the sight as Impulse did the same, except stuck the blade into the ground instead. It only took a second for the weapon to burst into golden particles, no signs of a dent made on the ground.  


“That should be all of them, right?” 

“Should be.” 

“Wonder why they’re showing up.” 

Tommy’s hands were clammy as he slowly let go of the bench, holding on maybe a bit too tightly moments ago. His heart was still beating frantically with what he just witnessed with his own two eyes, and his mind had still yet to caught up with the events that transpired. 

Those things… Monsters only exist in fiction, right? Tommy had seen countless movies and TV shows that had a bunch of supernatural flick in them. Hell, he could imagine those creatures being in one of those fictional shows where the main characters fight them off. 

He would feel excitement, watching those characters expertly dodge their attacks, striking them from behind with their own blades and magic. He would cheer for the heroes and made fun for how weak the monsters seemed. At the time, he didn’t think too much of his reactions. It was just a show, after all. It’s only for entertainment. 

He never had to think about what those characters had to endure, never had to wonder what they were thinking while fighting those monsters that were triple the size of them and being outnumbered. 

Now, as he saw those two men checking each other for injuries, he realized now what those heroes might have felt like. 

He wasn’t even there on the battlefield, and yet his heart was beating rapidly as if he was going to die. 

Monsters are real, and if those men weren’t able to do what they were able to do, they could have been dead. He would have to watch them die right in front of his eyes in a town he just fucking moved into. 

The two men didn’t seem to notice him at all. That didn’t stop Tommy from being careful as he slowly backed away from the bench, crouched, and turn to make his way back to the buildings. 

Except a pair of blue eyes stared back to his own, and Tommy was about to scream until a hand covered his mouth, somehow managing to stop it from erupting. 

Tubbo made a ‘shush’ motion with his other finger, his eyes narrowed and saying he won’t take no for an answer. Tommy tried to calm his heart, and once he felt like he had some control over it, nodded. 

The hand was then dropped, and Tommy felt Tubbo grab his wrist forcefully before dragging him towards the nearest building. They ran, somehow not passing anyone, until they got back to the cafeteria. 

Tubbo dropped his wrist and much to Tommy’s surprise, he looked upset. Well, more accurately angry as well as worry. 

“You… are a fucking idiot.” Tubbo said after a long period of silence. He sighed to himself, bringing his hand up to his face to rub his cheek. He looked exhausted as he looked everywhere except for Tommy. 

Seeing this, Tommy had a feeling he fucked up somehow. But he didn’t fuck up for a normal reason, that’s for certain. There’s something here that Tubbo knows that Tommy doesn’t, and him knowing made Tubbo upset. But perhaps it’s not that Tubbo was upset about Tommy knowing… 

“You could have been in danger.” 

Ah, that’s the reason. Tommy was embarrassed, knowing Tubbo was right. Still, he couldn’t help but feel slightly betrayed that Tubbo didn’t tell him about the supernatural things that this town possessed. 

“Tommy, you weren’t supposed to know-” 

“Tubbo, what am I not supposed to know?” 

The boy was at a loss for words at that point, his face scrunched up as if thinking long and hard about his response. Tommy felt really shitty about it, but really it’s not as if he initially wanted to find out that there are monsters living in this world and that those… charm things are actually needed to fight against those. 

What are those, anyway? 

“... It’s been a long day and lots of stuff happened. Let’s go back. If we’re lucky, Phil and Schlatt are probably done and you’ll get to rest.” Tubbo ended up saying in the end, his posture looking defeated but not too upset now. “Looks like Schlatt can’t hide this from you.” 

“Again, hide what? What am I missing?” 

Tubbo placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tomorrow is Sunday, which means both Phil and Schlatt are gonna be out the entire day. Meet me at my house tomorrow. We’ll go for a bit of a walk, and I’ll explain. But you have to promise me that you won’t tell Schlatt about what you’ve seen or what I’m about to tell you.” The last couple of words were said in a hushed tone. 

Tommy wasn’t able to reply when Tubbo let go of his shoulder and turned away, walking towards the exit. 

* * *

The walk was awkward and silent. Tommy was certain that their friendship had ended before it could barely go anywhere, but when they ended up back in their neighborhood and stood in front of Tubbo’s door, he suddenly stopped and smiled at him. 

“I’m sorry that your first day in our town wasn’t so peaceful.” He apologized, despite not being the one at fault. Tommy only nodded, but from there he was reassured that Tubbo wasn’t going anywhere. And that managed to pick up his mood considerably. 

They didn’t talk about what happened, instead switched over to what they would be doing once they’re in school. Tommy immediately said that he would “pick up chicks”. Tubbo obviously thought it was a joke. They had a small conversation to pass the time in the living room. Techno noticed them when he came down the steps, and silently made them mugs of hot chocolate which he placed on the coffee table before leaving them alone.

Only about ten minutes passed when Phil and Schlatt came back. Both looked tired but otherwise okay. Tommy was keeping an eye on Schlatt’s outfit, trying to spot anything that resembled a golden charm with a colorful gem. He saw none, though he noticed a lump on his pocket coat. 

“Hey, Tommy. You hung out with Tubbo all day?” Schlatt asked with a tired grin. Tommy nodded, placing his half-finished mug on the coffee table. 

“Yep. We went around and saw all kinds of shit.” 

“Fun. Anyway, it’s getting late and I got us some dinner. You must be tired after all that commuting and walking around.” 

Schlatt wasn’t lying. Tommy really felt tired after walking around so much. He was surprised he let himself tour around the town after commuting for more than seven hours in a single day, but he was somewhat thankful. At least after dinner, he won’t have trouble getting himself to bed. 

Tommy said goodbye to both Tubbo and Phil, and left with Schlatt to go back to the house. 

They ate dinner in silence with only the TV on. It reminded Tommy of his old house, except he was lost in his own chinese take-out instead of hiding away in his room. 

“Hey, uh, Tommy?” 

Tommy looked up, and noticed Schlatt sliding a set of keys across the table. 

“Here, your keys.”

There were three keys together, and a cute little charm in the shape of a vinyl disc. Looking at it made Tommy realize something. “You’re… You’re very busy, aren’t you?” 

Schlatt frowned. “... Yea. I work in the local community centre- it pays decently, just takes up lots of my time. Lots of folks here need help and there aren’t a lot of people willing to give up their time for them. And I didn’t have much of a reason to devote my time at home since I’m usually out so much, so when I got a call from your ma I knew it was going to be one heck of a year.” He laughed. Strangely enough, Tommy laughed a bit as well. 

“Well, sorry for being a burden.”

“Kid, don’t say that. I should be apologizing. You may be living here for a year but I don’t want you to go back to this house often empty. I’ll try to free up my time and stuff, just in case you need me. Though I reckon with your age, you don’t want an adult taking up your everyday life now, right?”

Tommy recalled the times when his parents never found time for him. They were usually busy with work, and when they’re not they’re either doing more work or resting, to do more work later. He supposed it’s different for his mom when she cooks their meals everyday, but even she spent that time talking to her friends which was why dinner was served late in the evening. 

Tommy didn’t mind that much, honestly. He was old enough to do what he wanted. He can also take care of himself if he wanted to. He was smart enough to do his homework without asking help, and responsible enough to know when he had to come back home for dinner when he ended up staying out too late after school. 

With how busy his parents were, it was easy for him to disobey the unsaid rules of Tommy’s life. He supposed while he was loud and boisterous all the time, he wanted to be good enough that his parents would take the time out of their day to talk to him about his grades, or his club…

It was quite sudden to hear that Schlatt, a total stranger in his life, was willing to make up time to make sure he was there for Tommy whenever he needed to. And while Tommy was sure he didn’t need an adult to be there for him 24/7, he liked that there was at least someone there. 

Whoa, what does that say about his life?

“Thanks, Schlatt.” Tommy said softly, though the words were genuine. 

That was it. After their dinner, Schlatt said he would clean up and let Tommy go back to his room.

The room was left as when he first saw it. Now that night was falling, exhaustion was quick to come up from behind him. However he trudged through, going through his belongings to get his pajamas and wash himself up in the bathroom. 

After that was done, he fell back onto the soft sheets and just… laid there. 

Sleep would be easier with how heavy his eyelids were, yet he couldn’t help but recall the strange things he saw today. 

The charms he saw, the not-so-ordinary townspeople he met, and seeing those two teachers fight off that monster as if it was a normal occurrence in their town. Though the strangest of it all was how much he was calm about it. He could still remember his heart racing and the possibility of that situation going terribly wrong. He could still remember Tubbo’s words, and how he could have been in danger. 

Yes, those things still make his heart pump from adrenaline and his hands sweaty. But the knowledge of it being real in this… non-fiction world, isn’t as strange as he thought it would be. He easily accepted their existence without much of a doubt. And yes, he still has questions. Lots of them.

But he wasn’t scared of it. Just curious. 

Finally coming to terms with those thoughts of his, he finally allowed himself to sleep. 

He had a dream about Tubbo and his bees. It was… a weird dream. But he felt himself growing closer to him. 

* * *

“Do you have to go?” A soft, boyish found asked. It was funny hearing how young he is when he was as tall as his father, but that’s what puberty does, he supposed. The young boy brought the jacket closer to him- gifted by his own father. It was mainly black, but had gold trims at the end of his sleeves and the color of red, yellow, blue and purple on the front. 

He didn’t mean to look so small, but even his orange ears drooped down just a bit. 

The older male smiled, ruffling the younger one’s hair up. “Of course. But after tomorrow, I may have to lay low. My people are starting to suspect me.” 

The younger frowned, though relished the feeling of the hand still in his hair. “Are you ashamed?” 

“That you’re my son? Never. I made a promise with your mother that I’ll protect you, and in doing so I have to make sure no one knows about you. It’s dangerous… I told you, remember? I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

The words were kind, but also the harsh truth. The boy couldn’t do anything but nod, even with the sour feeling he got in the end. 

The man only ruffled his hair. Then, he pulled the cap off his head and placed it on his son’s fluffy hair. It also had some gold details that complimented the jacket.

“I promise, I’ll be back.” 

It was a little over midnight when the man had finally reached home. The lights were off, telling him his own family were asleep now. 

Quietly, he unlocked the door and entered, closing it behind him. 

“Out again, huh?”

The deep, rough voice didn’t scare him anymore. Though he still turned, and with the minimum light coming from the window, he barely made out the long hair that was dyed brightly, and a set of dark eyes staring at his own. 

“Well, I should have suspected you were still awake, Techno.” 

Techno grumbled something under his breath, but sighed afterwards. “At this rate you’ll be sleeping through lectures, Wilbur.”

Wilbur didn’t say anything, knowing he was right. He only shrugged and began to walk around him to go back to his room, but stopped when Techno spoke. 

“Phil is going to find out sooner or later.” 

It wasn’t a threat, a simple fact that Wilbur decided to ignore. However… 

“Phil isn’t who I’m worried about.”

…

“It’s _him_.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small reminder that these characters will very much be ooc because I can't write canon for shit


End file.
